Atlanta Georgian and news. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1912, March 30, 1907, Image 1

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second section. ~] The' Atlanta Georgian and News SECOND SECTION. VOL. V. NO. 231. ATLANTA, GA., SATURDAY, MARCH 30,1907. PRTmn. ON Train* FIVE CkNT*. JTXUUJJ. In Atlanta TWO CENTS. A PASSOVER SERMON By RABBI DAVID MARX AT THE JEWISH TEMPLE F EAR not, O, Israel, I have re deemed thee. Thou art Mine.” Mr, Benjamin Kidd In his -.Htorlous, attractive yet delusive on "Social Evolution" defends ,.h visor and enthusiasm the thesis Si? human progress Is the result of Illusion, or rather of feeling, "that Sr* Is no rational sanction" for the advancement made by man in the on- Zr't march of the ages. A quarter of rrantury ago the celebrated Buckle, fn his “Introduction to the History of civilisation," advanced the somewhat .afferent opinion that human progress u to be explained only on rational Sounds: that religion haa hampered fdvancement; that Intellect Is the fac- mr in national development and human it aTnment. Both the historian of the nuarter century ago and the sociologist Sf the present day voiced truth. Their «nrks supplement each other. Each Minted with lucid argument to causes must be recognised In the study If history. Each In his respective held riuxht the perspective from different derations. Each Is partially correct, idealism of the first water Is a neces sity for national life and the shaping of the destiny of a people. The highest form of the quest after permanent truth gives tone and color to the dally Ktlons of man. It finds expression In his literature and art in his architec tural designs and In his ethics. It regulates his life and determines the scope of his duties. Swayed by Emotion. Feeling bursts the bonds of reason carried away by Impulse and sympa thy, men face dangers unwisely. Buoyed by patriotism and swayed by enthusiasm, nations war, though rea son counsels peace; men sacrifice home, even life, and heedless of all but the object of their aim carry with them, either forward or backward the wel fare and the hope of others. Peoples thus motived pause not of their own volition. Their course Is the right one! Their emotions can not mislead. This Impulse, religious, can not be wrong, though It slaughter thousands and im poverish tens of thousands. Whether Jericho be the city of Its devotion or wasted Europe the highway of Its cru sade. whether Cuba be the object if Its sympathy or the Philippines, a glo rious opportunity for new converts, Hoi!?. thousan ds starve at home—on- ttf l ^,n"n rVeS . th l llne of march, and at its van flaunts the banneret of abnor mal emotion. Yet with It all there Is emanation" pr0Krcs ? without rational explanation, says Mr. Kidd • reasoning*." " 0t ,he resu,t of deilb ®™'® Claim of Intellect Against the benefits that have sprung from the emotional element is the strong claim made by the intellect. Man has tolled by the sweat of his brow the harder and greater the obsta cle to be overcome, the truer the civili sation that has resulted from this con flict. Where nature has been most un kind, the more has his Ingenuity been taxed until with reason he has carved his way and lifted others up with him. Human progress has not been through the development of the emotion side A character, but through reason. by the narrow compass of our individual experience, we can find sufficient arguments to Justify which ever side of the question we might choose to father. Our prejudices will not be long In discovering flaws In our opponent's armor. Measuring by truer standards—the whole survey of history-remembering that decades are but minutes In na tional growth and that scores of years are only seconds on civilization’s clock, we overcome the predilection toward either of the claims made and recog nize that human progress Is the result ant of brain activity and heart pulsa tion. Read history closely. Measure progress not only by the monuments erected, but also by what has been de stroyed. Ruin tells as mighty a tale as structure newly formed. Destruc tion stands not necessarily for retro gression. It often posits tho truest advancement. Trace the rise and fall of empires, the long years of Injustice, of lust, of crime, of outraged humanity, of brutality In nations at their zenith and brightest day. Let centuries p^ss and time relentless bring to crop the sowings; let ages, moments in the swing of eternity’s pendulum, become of the past, then as the days are count ed a great invisible cause, long suffer ing and patient crumbles the founda tions and shatters the structure. The omitted factor in the solutions offered by Kidd and Buckle, the great God of History appears rewarding righteous ness nnd requiting at the bar of Justice the evils of centuries. Thoughts in tho Past Lives there such a Qod? My thoughts this morning are with the centuries past. I see a band of Semite tribes fleeing from Egypt led by the genius of Moses. Sinai flashes before the mind. I hear the voice of law and order where was chaos and lawless ness. A nation springs from these fierce tribes. Kings rule over It and prophets admonish it and bring It hope. Assyria devastates Its fields; Greece rules with harlotries; Egypt takes cap tive; Syria defiles Its altars; Rome smoulders Its sanctuary, banishes its sons, exiles its daughters. The world becomes Its habitation. Every nation smites and curses, plllioges and perse cutes It, but It does not die. prophets’ voice, sounding through time and over the ruins of Its persecutors, seems to whisper: "Fear not, O, Israel. I have redeemed thee; thou art Mine.” And as I think of the tombs of the Pharaohs of the lands that have op pressed, I feel that there is "a Just God who presides over the destinies of nations,” that Israel’s perpetuity Is a verification of the divine hand in tho working out of history. Israel Is the leaven in civilization. Its position ts unique: a nation in name only, a peo ple whose home Is everyv/here—in America, Americans; in Germany, Ger mans; In Russia, despite oppression, Russians. A people not shaped by des tiny for a separate, isolated existence, nor formed to bo a' political power amidst the nations of the world. A religious congregation whose survival mystery; a martyr-people that four thousand years after Its inception but begins to have the recognition due its genius and to receive tho homage that Is Its own by virtue of the benefits it has conferred upon men. Intellectual Progress. If the progress of the world be Intel lectual, then great will grow this hon or, for the scholar seeking knowledge must, by sheer force of his truth-lov ing soul, recognize the sourco whence has come so much of permanent value to humanity. If the progress of the l«.......................I tocsin of that world-pervading dream and hope of freedom, the natal day of that people who first wrote: "Proclaim liberty, throughout the land to all the Inhabitants thereof." and first Indited, "There shall be one law to you and to the stranger within thy gates." There fore, Its observance Is Important and he falls In his divinely appointed mis sion. Freedom and Manhood. As there can be no freedom without justice, so Is there none without man hood. When Injustice was greatest the heart of the Jew was strongest and his its lessons far-reaching. It represents pride the noblest. Epictetus, the slave, RABBI DAVID MARX. world be rellgloue, not doctrinal, eth ics must teach "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's;” truth wilt triumph over prejudice and men be grateful to the mother from whose life has sprung two world embracing daughters. This festival of the year—the Fourth of July of Israel—occurring at a sea son when nature speaks through Its unfettered fields and unlocked streams. Its budding plants and root-tnktng seed, reminds of the long winters of oppression and gives the promise of a harvest ripened by the light of heaven and matured by the forces of tho earth. While nature pulsates with the song of birds and the rustle of new born leaves and the air Is fragrant with the eweet odors of fresh-blown blos soms, the heart feels tho Influence of the world about, and the spring-tide breath of freedom finds response with in the breast of man. This day Is tho Plymouth Rock of Judaism, the belfry whence sounds the an Ideal of Israel-freedom. That Ideal has not been realized. Israel's mission Is not ended. The vyorld has caught the Inspiration. - It moves toward Its fulfillment. When justice shall be done and the light of a brighter day burn, unflickered by the wind, when "char ity" shall have been swept away by righteousness and toleration have made way for respect, and privilege has been converted Into right, then will the sym bolism of this day be meaningless. Un til then Israel stands for Justice. For our sake, for the right thinking and right living of the world, this bo our insistence and demand. For the gauge of a nation's humanity Is Its treatment of the minority and the standard of a people's civilization Is Its justice to ward those who differ. Have Robbed Israel, Through Ignorance or Injustice, tho past has failed to accord credit. It lacked not In bestowing blows. The centuries have robbed Israel. Its thoughts have been set up as of ex traneous origin, while the Jew learned "how sublime a thing It Is to suffer and be strong.” Nor has this spoliation of his Intellectual treasure-trove and his heart-creations ceased. Perverted teachings. Ignorance of peoples, short sighted views of emotionalism have been much to blame. t But n truer spir it begins to show Itself. The learned world, puzzled by the refusal of the Jew to perish, turns toward him for o keener knowledge of his past. Never was there greater demand for literature bearing upon him and his religion. Pub lishing houses and magazines concern themselves widely with books and arti cles on the connlo t '■■ - tie v % broadening Influence Is visible. Pulpits that ntty years u B o nouiu not „a.o dared speak a Just word for Israel to day tell of his virtues, point to the Jew ish homo life as a model of family strength and happiness, while the Jew himself at times falls to realize that the Justice he demands must be centered In these very virtues of his household and In the Integrity of his life. He still must continue his ancient charge: "Justice, Justice ahalt thou pursue," or acerated and gyved, was freer than hie maeters. Ills noble mind could de spise their slavish natures. The man who finds bla religion a burden Is In turn a burden to It. He who despises Us parents and their teachings for no other reason than the smile of the world and the social prestige of those who repudiate him until he haa sacri ficed principle, besmirches his man hood and Is the veriest of slaves. For him there Is no sunshine of liberty, no freedom of thd highest nature. He lives a delusion and dies a slave to self. In days'of prosperity It Is well with hlmi In hours of despair he Invokes God. In time of dire distress ho blames Him whom In material and social prosperity he dented. For the protagonist of free dom manhood must remain unlmpeach- ed. He stands as foe to the cowardice that would sacrifice altar for alllanoe, shrine for shekel nnd sanctuary for so cial grace. He compels the world to rocognize him through no negatlvo qualities, but because of the positive stand he takes as one who dwells among his brethren. The religious man has a duty to let his voice bo hoard and to be true to his faith as one whose fathers have enriched tho world with knowledge and sentiment; a duty to be In the van of civilization In overy cause that makes for human liberty. With the persecutor ever lies the apolo gy. Liberty end Knowledge. There con bo no liberty without knowledge. The ancestor of tho Jaw was tho priest and the prophet Their province was to conservo wisdom that their lips might speak truth. What made our fathers wise was learning plus world-experience. It made them putlent, easily governed because they had learned self-control. Knowledge brought with It the fundamental prin ciples of freedom, law, order, recogni tion of the rights of others. Knowl edge gave them priestly boaring. It In creased their store of wisdom. They knew the history of the past and felt that God's hand was not withdrawn from them. We need emulate their ex. ample that placed the fear of God above the fear of man. The world could not understand their life. Their mind was clear though their shoulders were bent; their souls were free desplto tho mis- ( ahapen dwelling place. "Our fathers were slaves, but we are , free men," phrases the thought In the! prayers of our home clrclo at this sea- | son. Who knows better than the Jewj the riddle of tho past? Who has fath- I omed deeper the lessons on wbloh rest ‘ the fate of mankind—tho eternal, souJ- j stirring "rights of man"—tho realiza tion of liberty In Its highest sense. I Tho World Progresses. Tho world progresses through feellnr i and reason, for tho permanent things In national and In Individual development} are the heritage of an lmprosslblo peo- I pie swayed by the beauty of hollneaat wedded unto tho recognition of a] Source, Immutable and just, and conse. I crated unto duty. The moral force that! slowly works for righteousness was, cradled on the slopes of Judalo thought. Tho foundation of governments, law and order, the hopo of man for a "Justu weight and a Just measure,” an equal] law for the stranger and the native] born,” applied ethics found expression! in the decalogue. But crowning theses Is the Injunction to remember that “yeI wore formerly slaves In Egypt,” "Thoul shalt not oppress the Egyptian for yoj were slaves In his land." No freedonJ without forbearance, no liberty wttM prejudlco. Onward pushes humonltyJ Weighed In the scales of almighty Jus-7 tics are nations. Hand In hand go] feeling and reason, each rounding the] other's rough edgea while guiding] progress with Invisible reins Is the] Master whose work Is seen after He has passed. Grateful are we on the day of Re demption for tho morales shown in the past. Hopeful aro we and ever active: for tho day, when the little spark Of civil liberty, kindled on tho shores of tho Red Sea, blown Into a flamo of re ligious liberty by the breath of Israel’s groat prophets will beoomo an all con suming fire In the breasts of nations and In tho heart of humanity. Then will this day bavo lost Its meaning, for tho earth filled with tho knowledge of God os the waters cover tho sea will! live throughout all years, tho spirit of; tho Passover In "righteousness and la justloe, In loving kindness and In mor.! cy.” Amen. Alexander Hamilton Stephens in the Management of Some of His Law Cases I =BY DR. R. J. MASSEY= When In his 22d year of age. Mr. Stephens on May 17, 1834, made the following note of himself: My weight Is ninety-four pounds. My height Is sixty-seven Inches, (Five feet seven Inches). My waist Is twenty-one Inches. My whole appearance Is that of a boy of seventeen. Two years ago, when I left college, I weighed seventy pounds. If I continue In a proportionate In crease, I shall reach one hundred pounds In about ten years. Tho records failed to show whether Mr. Stephens kept his proportionate In- The foil ' ‘ wciac. i m: .allowing note, however. Is related of him as an Illustration of the deceptiveness of appearances: There was at that time a shoe fac tory In Crawfordvllle, and as Mr. Stephens passed there one morning early, walking fast os his habit was, one of the three negroes suspended his cup In the act of dipping up water, and asked: “Who Is that little fellow that walks by here so fast of mornings?" The second replied: “Why man, that’s a lawyerl" The third negro exclaimed: “A lawyer! A lawyer, you say! Ha! ha! ha! that's too good!” That conversation, thus overheard, caused the young attorney much se rious thought. He was not angry, but took It as an occidental revelation of Popular opinion of him. The prospect «t the time and place was anyth! ng but promising. There were less than half a dozen cases returned to that term of the court. The amused negroes did not know that the "lawyer" would be eo proml- uent a defender of the wronged of their race. Mr. Stephens- has defended and saved the lives and persons of more negroes, perhaps, than any man In Georgia, The negro who made the remark was free, but In less than six months, that "little fellow" had saved him from punishment under a serious charge, by exposing a defect In the "arrant. Mr. Stephens' "shingle,” as the say ing is, was put out. and the next week be started on the circuit. Aleck Stephens, as everybody called mm, gained some brilliant success In •he old Inferior court very early In his career. I have heard old Jimmy Hig gins often tell of one of them, not men tioned by the biographers. Higgins would always recite tho conclusion of the speech, which It was his good for- tune to hear. Stephens' client was a Pale, wasted, stupid-looking follow, "ho had been arrested for debt and K 'Pt In Jail for several months. He "us upplytng to be discharged from imprisonment, under the honest debtor's net. One Bradley Thompson. 11 1 remember the name right—a creditor, opposed the plrsoner’s motion, contending that there had not been a tun surrender by the debtor. The sub stance of the peroration, as I used to near it repeated, was: "Gentlemen of Jury, you all know Bradley Thomp- mire He 'i’ 0 ’ 58 after his own Interest county 'un cheat him out of a cent If this poor fellow has Indeed got any unfair advantage of him—which I utterly , ny—I think you should be In haste •o compliment him for such a hard and rare exploit." The Jury turned the debtor loose. Now as to the first case of Stephens m the superior court. As I have often board Stephens tell It himself at Llb- Hall. It was a suit by Stephens, Kraonally. against a Worrenton tav- rn-keeper, to recover the value of Stephens' trunk and contents which bad been rtolen while the owner was , Kdcst. -On the trial the plaintiff ha/1 o prove that the tavern was what Is “ostgnated In law os "a common Inn." *° Prove this point, Stephens had sum moned as witnesses certain lawyers m.,. »bo for years had lodged at the tavern once took the place at during court week. Judge Cone was the first one of these that testified. He showed long familiarity with the tavern. When asked whether It was common Inn” or not, he answered, "It Is a common one." Stephens gained his case, after making a taking little speech; and he collected his Judgment. When the tale was told In my bearing, as It often was, two things would never be left out. One was that at that time Aleck Stephens was too poor to lose the clothes he had In the trunk. The other was that tho tavern-keeper was so enraged against Cone that he tried to cudgel him when court adjourned, and that Cone leaped Into tho stage and had the driver to turn his horses loose. Rather an Interesting anecdote Is told of his first adventure in beginning the profession. Tho next court was at Washing ton, Georgia, the placo of hts school boy days. There were no railroads ro public conveyances between the places. Ho had no horse and was too proud to ask the loan of one from any of his acquaintances In the town. The whole distance was a little too far for his strength, should he un dertake it on foot. Ho walked to his uncle's, which was about ten miles, or half the distance and little out of the way—carrying hts saddlebags, contain ing a change of clothes, upon hts shoulders. He chose the cool of night Instead of the heat of a July day for this undertaking, nnd resting frequent ly on the stones of the roadside, sadly meditated tn his darkened loneliness upon the deeper darkness that envel oped his future fate. A horse was bor rowed from his uncle without scruple, and the next day he proceeded on hts way. The change of clothes, above mentioned, consisted In part of a pair of thin, whlto cotton pants of cheap material, very suitable for the season, and somewhat of the appearance of linen. That he might enter the town and the court room as d ® c ®" t ‘J 8 ,*" 8 " Bible, he dismounted a short distance from the suburbs and doffed the some- what worn unmentionables \*ith which he set out and donned the aforesaid white ones In their stead. Also other- wlse arranged his toilet “ *£; 8 * h b ! could for hts appearance as a member of tho bar on tho circuit. T b« re verse operation was gone through with on his return. . , . _ Within ten days after his admission to practice he was employed In very Important case. A wealthy gen tleman of high position ami p-eat In fluence upon the death of his son, had been appointed guardian of the person and property of his granddaughter, anu m „, hpr being mar- In the then an Infant, Its mother being mar- rled to a second husband. In th« course of time the mother palmed pos session of the child, which claim was resisted by the grandfather, whoclalm- ed It aa legal guardian. The step father wishing to please the mother, Ms wife cam! to the young lawyer and engaged him as counsel to set aside e the guardianship, other lawyers having failed, and Mr. Stephens hav ing, upon being consulted given his opinion that the letters of Kuardlnn- elosely than any man In the ,1° revoked^and °the mother y- There's not one of you who should^be_^ J care and educa- U< The° f tr h iali w^bclore the five Judge, of the inferior court, with no Jury, slt- tini as a court of ordinary, upon mo- # Jm fo set aside the letters of guard- hmsMp So far as related to the person if thechlld. Great Interest was man- ma?e ‘and'vvhof 1 'notwithstanding hi. iiftrement from the bar. had been pre- TOe^resu’rwas^hat^VuardlanThip ?JSSW£ rthe^rmTfS STS? *> talned on ono side or other of every Important case tried In his county. In all probability ono of the most noted and remarkable cases on the criminal. side of the court, In which Mr. Stephens was ever engaged, wac that of the state vs. Benjamin Willett, charged with murder, tried at the Sep tember term of Green county court, 1853. Benjamin Willett and Felix Janes, both of middle Georgia prominent fam ilies, at the tender age of sixteen were students of Mercer university, Penfletd, Georgia, during the year 1853. They lived within one block of each other and were bosom friends. They could be eeen together dally going to and from their collego duties, frequently arm In arm. At a certain corner In the town there was a vicious dog. This dog worried the boys very much, at tempting each dsy to bite them. He had become so annoying to them that they procured from a fellow student an old pistol, single barrel and smooth boro, for the purpose of protecting themselves. One day Willett would carry the pistol, probably the next day James would have It. Young Wlllet was the brother of Professor Joseph E. Wlllet, who had been recently elected to the chair of natural science In Mercer, which he subsequently held for nearly fifty years, making for himself and family a distinguished name. These brothers were tho sons of Joseph Wlllet, of Bibb county, who had come from Norwich, Conn., to Georgia when Bibb was a new county—was one of Its original settlers. He prospered, grew up with the country and soon, on account of his many sterling qualities, became very much beloved and highly respected, be queathing to his family not only a com petency. but a good name, a legacy far more valuable than gold or silver. Felix Janes was the youngest son of the late Hon. Absolom Janes, who had removed to Penfletd for the purposo of educating his children. Before moving to this point he had been. It Is said, at Crawfordvllle, Go., tho best merchant outside of Augusta or Bavannah, an extensive planter and prominent politi cian. He was candidate for congress, opposed by Mr. Stephens, In 1843. Ste phens was elected and Janes retired to private life, devoting the balance of hts days to his extensive planting In- ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPH ENS. tcrests and educating his children at Penfield. • One afternoon soon after college I o'clock prayer services had ended, sev oral sets of students began playing marbles on the edge of Ihe collego campus. Janes and Wlllet, arm In arm, as usual, came up. Wlllet took part with ono set, Janes with another, contiguous to each other. Occasionally the marbles of one set would be shot over Into tho grounds of the other. It happened that Wlllet’s marble had twice gone over onto Janes' ground. Janes picked up the marble and jok ingly said to Wlllet, that If he did so again he would whip him. After a while tho marble went over onto Janes’ ground agnln, Janes picking up the marble, said jokingly again: "1 have a great mind to whip you." Wlllet re plied In same good humor, "If you do I will shoot you,” at tho same tlmo pulling out the old pistol. Here the boys began a playful struggle, Janes catching hold of the pistol, which was soon discharged, the ball passing through Janes' abdomen. From the effects of this wound Jones died on the third day. No on* ever believed that young Wlllet ever Intended to shoot young Janes. In fact, Janes himself made a statement bofore hts death that he had no Idea Wlllet meant to shoot him; that the old pistol would not stand cocked anyhow; that It went off without Wlllet's Intention to shoot, and that he wanted It distinctly understood that ho and Ben Wlllet were friends till death. On the second day after the shoot ing. when the physicians In charge de cided that Janes would soon die, young Wlllet, with his brother, Professor Wll let, repaired to Greensboro and volun tarily surrendered himself to the sher iff of tho county. Professor Wlllet at once consulted Captain Dickson H. i Saunders, his brother-in-law, then Just ' commencing the practice of lavV at Greensboro, who Is still living at that place, and from whom I gather much vuluablo Information In a recent con versation. Captain Saunders went to Madison on the very next train nnd retained the services, as consulting counsel, of Hon. Augustus Reese, a prominent attorney, statesman and learned Jurist. Fully realizing the gravity of the situation, Captain Saun ders, by the consent of Reese, went at once to Crawfordvllle, where the su perior court was In session, and em ployed both Hons. William C. Dawsoi and Mr. Stephens In the caso. At the trial excitement ran high, not only Greene county, but the surround ing counties taking great Interest In the case. None, however, showed more In terest than did the entire student body of Mercer University. Of relatives, particular friends of each family wit nesses, at least two-thirds of the col lege students attended It, After all evidence was In, Judge Reose made one of his able, close, logical, argu mentative speeches, showing plainly that the defendant could not have been guilty of murder. But when Cone and Tootnbs followed for the state, they seemed to have torn Into shreds all of Reese's able speech. In this connection, however, Cone seemed 111 at east, as he always had done, since the unfor tunate difficulty between himself and Mr. Stephens, tn which he maimed the latter for life. Toombs was partlcu- THE ENGLISH NO VEL AND THE DECALOGUE By REV. THOMA8 B. GREGORY According to a recent charge of the bishop of Norwich, the English hovel of todsy has declared wnr on the Ten Commandments snd the Sermon on tho Mount, and Is dolug Its utmost to Introduce Into English homes tho morality of tho slums snd tho Jungle. Ills lordship. It appears, baa carefully ex nmlned some eighty London stories, snd out of this number "seventeen strive to show that marrlago la an antiquated Institution that Is no longer worth our serious etten- tlon. eleven make Infidelity the Ideal end most deal ruble thing, twenty-two bold that married men onght to live a double life In order to be happy, eaten scoff at wifely faithfulness In the married etato, nnd twenty-three ere to vulgar as to cause sur prise that they should be placed on sale at Kebtabopof Norwich telle the truth- end certainly hie lordehlp would scorn to tell anything elee-then tb«o Is no escaping the conclusion thst preeent-dny English lit erature ts tn n had way. Not only eo. If the bishop sites tip tht sit uation correctly, the English people sre In a l ’ i N.i''p«>ple that mocks nml ridicules the moral law run endure much beyond the point where the mockery end ridicule fairly begin. they have been put to many severe tests, oil of which they have etoo/1 bravely uud well; but tt Is ns sure os anything rau bo tn this world thut the day on which the English people forget to venerate marriage and home and tho sanctities that go idol with them will be the day on which wl set In their national decline. To sav nothing of the Bible, the English people have tint to turn to their great Bhakespeiire to learn how absolute the moral law Is, how independent of all hu- mail convention anil ruling, snd how It keeps right on about Ita business utterly regardless of man’s folly or contempt. Tho good bishop deplores, among other things, tho "Infidelity ' of the novels tn question, and as n churchman the bishop could not very welt do anything else than to lament the aforesaid lack of faith; hut It were well to hear In mind the fact that far worse than any Infidelity of the letter of the Bible Is the Infidelity which makes one scoff at the highest and holiest senti ments of the soul Itself—the decencies nnd purities by tho strength of which society It may Im an unfortunate thing to be skeptical al/ont Jonah, nml Moses, nml Paul ami the events that are In sacred writ an- sis'Iated with their names; hot It Is still , . more unfortunate not to In-lteve la the sane- Taxes are lowest In China and high- tity of marrlago snd the home, snd In the cat In l ranee. pnrtty of the tics thst bind together father, mother and child. Away go nil things so soon as this latter sort of Infidelity once geta u grim on human thonght. The most deplorable feature of the bish op's find Is the fact that most of the dis reputable novels In question are written by women. ho long an n nntlon’e womanhood la strong In the good nnd homely virtues nil to well, hut when woman becomes corrupt, when woman gets to the point where she ran see nothing holy In the world, then the very foundation snakes and the end Is not far off. Let ns hope that, despite tho wsll from the bishop of Norwich, the rank snd file of the British people aro still heart of oak, nml that tho filthy stuff of which be com plains Is rend montly by tho degenernten of London town. In cayenne pepper we have a pure, energetic, permanent ntlmulant. Why not use It Instead of whisky and bran dy, which are not more energetic and are not permanent In Ihelr action?— Therapeutics and Dietetics. larly forceful In portraying the chivalry of tho Southern gentleman, tn which he mads Janes the hero and martyr, urging the Jury to visit vengeance upon young Wlllet. Judgo Dawson, In his usual happy and graceful manner, made a most fa vorable Impression In his efforts to show the whole affair was but the un fortunate result of a boyish wrangle, that might happen any day among a set of boys. Stephens hod the conclusion. His speech was made at night after sup- per. Hundreds were present (Among them almost every student of Mercer hod come over,) Notwithstanding the grand efforts of both Cone and Toombs, It was seen that Mr, Stephens had everybody with him. Many people who had never heard Mr. Stephens before said It was the grandest effort they ever witnessed. He made a practical demonstration by displaying the pis tol, showing to the jury that the old pistol could not be dopended upon, that the old thing would go off half cocked and that tt went off In Ben Wlllet's hands when he did not In tend It, also dwelling with great force on Jones' last statement. The night wns cloudy and very dark. In the height of one of his grandest efforts there came a rift In the clouds and the moon shown forth. Mr. Stephens, taking advantage of the occasion, walked to the window, called atten tion of the Jurymen, that even heaven itself was smiling upon their efforts in nobly protecting young Wlllet from the vengeance of tho prosecution. Ho closed his speech by appealing to the twelove Jurors as “the twelve cities of refuge,’’ to whom young Wlllet hod flown for protection, most fitly, com paring them to the twelve cities of refuge In which the Jews found pro tection If so fortunate as to reach one of them before overtaken by the pur suer. During his speech at least one- half of the audience was filled with tears, and It Is but Just to say that almost every lady was weeping. In a few mlnutee the Jury returned with tho verdict, "We, the Jury, find the defendant, Benjamin Wlllet, not guilty." In a long-checkered life, I must say that I never witnessed such a scene as I witnessed that night, when Wlllet was found "not guilty,” Men, women nil hastened to congratulate young Wlllet upon his happy deliverance. This tragedy occurred just across the street from the ofllce of Drs. Melere and Massey, of which firm I was junior member and within two hundred feeL Janes was brought Into our office from which he was carried to his home, and either Dr. Melere or myself was at hlB bedside till death. Janes made a dying statement In which he posl- ,'oly disclaimed any belief that Ben 'Met Intended to shoot him; that he wanted It distinctly understood that they were friends till death. This evi dence was produced tn court, Mr. Ste phens using It In such way as to satisfy the jurors that the explosion of the pistol was accidental. There are living today, who were students at Mercer at that time, Ex- Governor Northun, A. T. Spalding, D. D„ Colonel John H. Seals, founder and for thirty years proprietor of The Sunny South; Judgo George Hlllyer, of Atlanta: Dr. I. D. Moore, Rev. J. H. Kilpatrick. D. D.. of White Plains; Rev. Edgar -Jewell, of Austell, and several others, most of whom remember the circumstances as above related—each one asserting that Aleck Stephens, at that time, mode the best speech they ever heard. There Is still living a well-preserved matron of about seventy years, who, as a girl, was present at tho trlaL For many years she could repeat almost verbatim Mr. Stephens' speech. She remembers very distinctly that Mr. Stephens called upon the twelve jurors as twelve cities of refuge Into which his client was fleeing for protection. Among Wlllet's friends and acquaint ances there hod never been such a doubt but that ho would ultimately, acquitted. Ho had always boon a mod est, retiring, moral boy—more like a girl than a boy In manner nnd dispo sition, and had tho almost entire un divided sympathy of tho pooplo. espe cially tho studeht body whoro ho had always been a favorlto. Although young Sanders did not appear In tho caso before tho Jury, his efforts wore certainly appreciated by the counsol for the defonso. When they met to dlvldo tho liberal fees which had boon paid by the MMM they admitted that Young Wlllet's ac quittal wns duo os fully to tho efforts of young Sanders ns any other mem ber of ths bar, and acknowledged tho same by giving him a liberal portion of the samo. As soon as young Willot wont to jail, Sanders at onoo sent his own fur niture to the room to mako him com fortable. Being of high social position* hs enlisted tho sympathies of nl-, most every lady in Greensboro nnd Greene county. This was done with a view to reach tho men, which proved to be a decided success, for almost ev-‘ cry man In tho county felt assured that Wlllet was not at heart guilty of mur-. der, and tho vordtet of the Jury met an entire response of approval from tho whole country. After his acquittal! Wlllet went West nnd became highly! respected. At the beginning of tho' war ho promptly enllstod In behalf of his beloved South, and fighting for his principles, fell at the memorable siege of Vicksburg. To tho Hon. John C. Held, of Atlanta, the leading counsel la what has been handed down as tho celebrated "Du pree will case," Involving an amount approximating 32,000,000, wo aro In debted for an account of Mr. Stephens last appearanco as a lawyer before a Jury In Lexington, Oglethorpe county. His brother, Linton, with tho full consent of People* and Stewart nnd my self associate counsel, had led tn the conduct of the case. Linton died after we got the new trial. A. H. Stephens conferred with mo, showing great con cern for Linton's 35,000 fee, which might bo lost It the caso was lost. I advised him to take hts brother's place, promising to give him all necessary In formation. On this condition ho con sented. He came to Lexington, at the April term, 1878, when the cose was tried the second time. I went over tho facts and points carefully with him, as I had promised. I was struck with Ids diligent attention and quick and accur ate apprehension. Standing on his crutches, he made the concluding argu ment to the Jury. I con never forget the admiring audience that he had both from spectators and the Jury. His speech was throughout a verdict-win ner. While he was pressing a conflict In the testimony of the other side, on a most material point, Toombs Inter rupted with an attempted corrrectlon. Stephens vindicated his challenged statement by reading pertinent parts of answers to. When he had done this thoroughly, glancing at Toombs, ho quoted; "The flesh will quiver where the pinchers tesr; Ths blood will follow where the knife Is driven.” I never saw Toombs’ grand face ex hibit more vexation, and It was a face that often showed a thunderstorm near. The most effective part of Stephens' speech was what he said of the testa tor's wisdom in fencing about the prop erty he gave his only children, all ' era, with trust provisions that prelect them against the for tune-hunter, coupled with what he also said of tho stepmother, now allying herself with sons-ln-Iaw In effort to overturn the beneficent trust provision. He got the verdict. It wus the great er gratification to him, because Hen Hill had made a powerful speech on tho other side. Stephens seemed to feel that he hod at last got satisfaction for the terrible discomfiture received In stump debate with Hill, In this very Lexington, nearly seventeen years bo fore.